Hello, Cycling my tank and my nitries seem to be stuck, im ghost feeding a cube of shrimp every day and using a bactiria booster called cycle, amonia dropped to 0 but nitries are prob around 5ppm... its been like that for like maybe 1 1/2 weeks now... can someone tell me why amonia went dont but nitries are stuck? oh and thank you for everyone that takes the time to help me out im kinda new to this stuff.
Why arnt my nitrites going down?
- Thread starter Isaac01
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Pet Detective
New member
how long has it been cycling? Ammonia is step 1, then Nitrites are step 2, Nitrates are step 3 & then to a lesser extent nitrogen gas if Anaerobic bacteria forms step 4. cycles typically take 4-6 weeks to properly colonize the different bacteria required...be patient, 9 or 10 days is nothing compared to the possible lifespan of a saltwater tank, enjoy the process & take the time to learn & understand this process, it will give you a great foundation for this hobby.
Give it some time! I would quit ghost feeding, the bacteria can live a year without food so all you do by continuing to ghost feed after you have a good ammonia spoke is increase the amount of nitrates you have to deal with at the end of the cycle. The nitrites usually drop suddenly to zero about two weeks after your ammonia zeros out.
CStrickland
New member
It's cause they are different kinds of bacteria. The ones that eat ammonia seem to get going quicker, I think it's something about how well the different companies bottle them. But also, the nitrite eaters got started later too. Like they had to wait for the ammonia eaters to make the nitrites for them to eat, and then they could start to reproduce.
Sometimes it's quick and sometimes it takes a few weeks, then all of a sudden one day theyre gone. In the meantime you can probably get your first fish into quarantine.
Sometimes it's quick and sometimes it takes a few weeks, then all of a sudden one day theyre gone. In the meantime you can probably get your first fish into quarantine.
Pet Detective
New member
LOOOOL the ones that eat ammonia get going quicker??? It's a cycle, you don't get nitrites without ammonia, nitrates without nitrites, nitrogen gas without nitrates....it's a step by step process, the bacteria do not preclude themselves, it happens in succession.
hello everyone, and thanks for the replys, so am i safe to add a damsel? also i had no idea that the bacteria could live a year without food once it gets going? i was afraid ide starve it and kill it if i didn't keep feeding the tank...and i was under the impression that my nitrates ide have to manually remove with water changes? so how do i get it to turn into nitregen so i don't have to manually pull it out? ohh and thanks again yall are great at replying so quickly
CStrickland
New member
Dont add a fish yet, the nitrites won't hurt them, but you want your whole cycle going so you don't get an ammonia spike (that hurts a lot). Also damsels are pretty fierce, it's usually better to add them last so they dont take over the whole tank. Quarantine is in a separate tank, to get the fish healthy before it goes in your DT.
They are all nitrogen. Just diff shapes of it. The last bacteria eats nitrates, but they can take months to get going so you don't need to wait for that to stock the tank. Just extra waterchanges in the beginning, like 10% per week is good.
Most of the bacteria is on the rocks and sand, the skimmer cant get it. It can't hurt but it might waste electricity.
umm... How is that diff from what I said?
But you are thinking a little too linearly. There are lots of processes occurring in our tanks that shift and alter nitrogen. For example: anammox, DNRA, AOA, as well as cyano fixing nitrogen gas, algae uptaking ammonia directly, zoox and diatoms consuming nitrite, and many many more.
It's not *just* a step by step, but OP probs won't see their nitrites go until the the denitrifiers have had enough time with the ammonia to get their numbers up. Like I said.
i don't got a quarinteen tank 
so if thats the case can i add a damsel? hehe i wasnt going to put him in my main tank. i just want to drop him in my sump and make sure everything is cool before i put anything else in... ill eventually take him back to fish store.. the reason why sump and not main tank is it would be to hard to get him out of main tank with all the rock i got
so if thats the case can i add a damsel? hehe i wasnt going to put him in my main tank. i just want to drop him in my sump and make sure everything is cool before i put anything else in... ill eventually take him back to fish store.. the reason why sump and not main tank is it would be to hard to get him out of main tank with all the rock i got
CStrickland
New member
youll know everything is cool when your tests read zero for trites and ammo. No need to torture a damsel and then return him to the store all busted up so the next person buys a fish with gill and kidney damage
The bacteria reproduce by binary division (think back to biology class). Nitrobacter (the nitrite into nitrate bacteria) take almost twice as long to double the colony size then nitrosomonas (ammonia to nitrite).
If it was me - I'd stop adding the bacteria since it seems to be on a similar timeline to a non-supplemented fishless cycle. Take the money you're now saving, and buy something else with it. I saw you had a skimmer - what about an auto top off unit or a QT setup? I love my ATO. So do my fish.
And no - don't get a damsel. There is no reason to, especially if you don't actually plan to keep that damsel. Research the other fish you want.
If it was me - I'd stop adding the bacteria since it seems to be on a similar timeline to a non-supplemented fishless cycle. Take the money you're now saving, and buy something else with it. I saw you had a skimmer - what about an auto top off unit or a QT setup? I love my ATO. So do my fish.
And no - don't get a damsel. There is no reason to, especially if you don't actually plan to keep that damsel. Research the other fish you want.
i built a auto top off allready... its kinda cool i got the idea from the kind of do it yourself on utube... the whole set up with a pump cost me less then 30$ and ima build a back up float switch just in case mine ever gets stuck... i dont got the space for a QT tank or ide have one...
Pet Detective
New member
yes, a NEW cycle is a step by step, Linear, 1 won't happen without the other PROCESS, you just substituted anammox, DNRA & AOA for the processes I described first, diatoms, cyano etc. all happen AFTER the original cycle & then become part of the simultaneous process, so when you said the ammonia eating bacteria seem to start quicker, it was funny to me, implying that the other types of bacteria might also be present then. It's not a big deal but don't try & confuse others with your google research, we all know how to do it, lighten up & just accept it was a literary faux pas.
CStrickland
New member
I think you just didn't read my first post very well, if you try again you'll see that in the one you quoted I said the ammonia eaters make nitrites for them to eat, and then they can start to reproduce. That's not different than what you're saying.
It's not a big deal, lighten up and just accept that it was a reading comprehension faux pas. Don't try & confuse others by quoting and LOOOOLLing at somebody you don't actually disagree with in your eagerness to sound clever.
It's not a big deal, lighten up and just accept that it was a reading comprehension faux pas. Don't try & confuse others by quoting and LOOOOLLing at somebody you don't actually disagree with in your eagerness to sound clever.
Pet Detective
New member
"The ones that eat ammonia seem to get going quicker"
I read that correctly....the word SEEM is incorrect, you were wrong & you can't accept it.
